Mind & Heart Newsletter: March 2013
An update from Whitworth University President Beck A. Taylor
I like to watch our Whitworth seniors this time of year. They're excited, nervous and melancholy all at once. When seniors come back to campus in September, most of them express relief that this will be their last year of college. But they also arrive ready to lead our campus, and their deep desire to leave a legacy here is palpable – every class wants to leave its distinctive mark. Just as the snow begins to melt and the campus squirrels come out from their hiding places, the sense of mission and purpose that I saw in the fall and winter begins to transform into nervous anticipation. As our seniors begin to contemplate what life might look like after graduation, they also begin to sense what it will mean to lose community, at least the Whitworth community they've depended on for the last four years. It's about this time of year that the phrase "the college years are among the best of your life" holds real credibility, perhaps for the first time. Included in this array of anxieties are the silly ones – How many days do I have to catch my virgin pinecone? How can I drop my tray in Saga when there are no more trays? Will wearing t-shirts adorned with pirates and the words "Booty Club" be socially acceptable in the real world? But more profound are concerns about keeping friendships, losing faculty mentors, sustaining personal intellectual vitality when daily access to innovative programs and world-class speakers is no longer available, or simply leaving a place where everybody knows your name. It's also the time of year when I begin to pray daily for our seniors, often by name, because I know how hard this transition will be. But I am confident in something they may not yet know – that they are ready. In the days and months after graduation's fanfare, they will begin to sense that, too. "To honor God, follow Christ and serve humanity" will become for them more than an aspiration. They will grow in confidence as they see how the Whitworth community has helped to shape them, by God's grace, into women and men ready to live lives of calling, service and integrity. I'm thanking God today for our seniors!
Academics
Whitworth's theologians continue to excel. The latest book from Roger Mohrlang, Paul and His Life-Transforming Theology: A Concise Introduction (Wipf & Stock), will be released this month. Also, Dale Bruner's commentary on John, and Jerry Sittser's A Grace Revealed received Awards of Merit in Christianity Today's annual book awards.
Laurie Lamon, '78 (English), has a poem, Not in a Certain Light, coming out in Valparaiso Review; another, I'm Going to Bed When You Go to Bed, will be in Plume.
Noel Wescombe (Psychology), Michael Rempe (Mathematics & Computer Science), Daman Hagerott (Kinesiology & Athletics), and Jael Hagerott, '07 (Kinesiology & Athletics), were awarded STEM grants to support their project "Sleep, Performance, and Mood."
The history and English departments recently sponsored their annual Simpson-Duvall Lecture, Lewis V. Baldwin's "The Spirituality of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement: An Enduring Legacy." During his visit, Baldwin, a pre-eminent historian of African-American churches in the United States, met with students for dinner and faculty for lunch. He also spoke in the history department's Rise of Modern America course.
As part of Women's History Month, Whitworth showed the documentary Invisible War, a look into one of the most troubling aspects of American armed service: the epidemic of rape within the U.S. military.
Former Prime Minister of Ethiopia Tamrat Layne Admassu will offer a lecture, "Transformation of Life in Jesus," at Whitworth March 13 as part of our spring Speakers & Artist Series. Admassu, a former atheist, radical revolutionary and communist, says he gave his life to Jesus when God visited him in prison. He served as party leader and military commander for the revolutionary collation army, and, later, as prime minister, defense minister, and chief of federal affairs for Ethiopia.
Our School of Education was selected as the winner of the 2013 Model of Excellence Award by the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education. AILACTE commended Whitworth for depicting a strong emphasis on diversity through cross-cultural experiences and field immersion in intercultural education. Judges ranked Whitworth's application as excellent in all three categories in which it was rated.
Ron Prosser (Education) was selected Counselor-Educator of the Year by the Washington School Counselor Association. Ron was nominated by Kyle Storm (Education), who described Ron as "a selfless educator who looks to promote others by teaching them skills that provide relief and caring to those who suffer. It is a noble calling that he has graciously and enthusiastically answered."
The School of Global Commerce & Management recently held its first meeting of the SGCM Business Advisory Board. Twenty-five executives traveled to Whitworth from Spokane, Seattle and the Bay Area to initiate this group, which will serve as an advisory board to Boppell Dean Tim Wilkinson. The BAB, chaired by Whitworth Trustee Stu Stiles, will serve a vital role as the school pursues AACSB accreditation.
The Arts
The Whitworth Symphony Orchestra will tour Boise, Salt Lake City and Draper, Utah, during Spring Break, with a closing performance at Spokane's Fox Theater on Sunday, April 7, at 3 p.m. "Our students will share the hope of the Resurrection through a program of Easter music by Rimsky-Korsakov, Mendelssohn and Wagner," says Philip Baldwin (Music), conductor. Alums and friends in the cities mentioned above, our musicians would love to see you at their concerts!
Whitworth Theatre will present The Laramie Project, developed by Moisés Kaufman and the members of the Tectonic Theater Project, as its spring main stage show. Diana Trotter (Theatre) will direct. In October 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay 20-year-old university student, was tied to a fence, beaten, and left to die on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyo., in a brutal act that stunned the nation. The play is the result of hundreds of interviews with Laramie residents by members of the Tectonic Theater Project, who recorded the responses of Shepard's neighbors to the murder. It is a compelling portrait of the people of Laramie and their efforts to come to terms with this vicious crime as well as an exploration of the depths of cruelty to which humans can sink and the heights of compassion to which we can soar. Dates are March 8, 9, 15, 16 at 7:30 p.m. and March 10 at 2 p.m. Admission is $8 general and $6 senior citizens (age 62-plus). The Whitworth Strategic Initiatives Fund will cover admission for all students. Please note: The language and content of this play may not be suitable for all audiences.
Student Life
Spring semester began with Cultural Awareness Week, seven days of events focusing on stigmas and their deterrent effects on community, communication and relationships. We then celebrated the Chinese New Year with an amazing dancing-dragon performance in the HUB. The Green Dot Program kicked off in the middle of the month, with coordinators providing hours of training for students and employees before the event. Green Dot gives each of us the opportunity to be engaged as active bystanders in preventing occurrences of stalking, bullying, partner violence or sexual assault within our Whitworth community.
More than 150 Whitworth students participated in February's Internship Information Fair. This event allowed current internship students to share the academic and vocational value of an internship experience. The 19th annual Partnership Career Fair (presented by Whitworth, WSU Spokane, EWU and Gonzaga) also provided Whitworth students and alumni the opportunity to network with more than 105 national and regional employers.
Alumni & Parents
The Whitworth Office of Alumni & Parent Relations and Annual Giving, along with The Whitworth Phonathon, moved last month to Hardwick Alumni House, on the corner of Hawthorne Road and Whitworth Drive. Please stop in to visit, share memories, take a tour or enjoy a cup of coffee! The house is named for Francis T. Hardwick, namesake of the original HUB, beloved by '30s and '40s alumni and credited with keeping the university open during the difficult years of the Great Depression.
Commencement Weekend reunions are just around the corner for members of the classes of 1953, 1963 and 1973. All alums who graduated in 1973 and earlier are invited to join us on campus May 17-19. We will also celebrate this year's alumni award winners. Register at www.whitworth.edu/reunions or alumni@whitworth.edu, or call 509.777.3799.
Admissions & Financial Aid
Our March 1 freshman application deadline has passed, but if you know someone who might need an extension, please encourage him or her to contact the admissions office at 800.533.4668 or admissions@whitworth.edu. Applicants with incomplete files should submit transcripts, letters of recommendation and test score reports as soon as possible. The sooner we have a complete file, the sooner we can make admissions decisions and send out those fat acceptance envelopes.
It's FAFSA season! Newly admitted students should have submitted their FAFSA by now and can anticipate receiving an award soon. Continuing students have a priority deadline of May 1 and will receive their awards electronically in late spring. For those new or continuing students who still need to apply, students and parents can now automatically load the tax data from the IRS website (which is preferred over hand-entering the data) two weeks after the federal tax return is filed electronically. Whitworth's receipt of the student's FAFSA can be confirmed on WhitNet. Students who receive academic scholarships only will have their scholarships automatically renewed and are not required to file the FAFSA.
Campus Ministry
Mark your calendar now for the Whitworth Institute of Ministry, July 8-12. Our theme, "For Such a Time as This: Ancient Christian Wisdom for Postmodern Times," focuses on the changing landscape of ministry that leaves some ministers and church leaders wondering if anything is secure in our theology, our practice, and/or our churches. WIM will address this moment from the perspectives of spiritual formation (James K.A. Smith), scriptural reflection (Jerry Sittser, Karen Petersen Finch, Jim Edwards, '67), and inspirational preaching (Carolyn Gordon). These speakers will help participants renew the rhythms, practices and disciplines of the church that encourage Christians to remain faithful to Christ and each other. Visit www.whitworth.edu/wim or our WIM Facebook page for more info.
Costa Rica
Mel Larson, '92 (Health Sciences), and 10 of her majors spent Jan Term in Costa Rica, where students participated in medical internships, took medical Spanish classes, lived with host families and went on special field trips. Thirty freshmen visited the center for a Jan Term honors course, Creation Care: A Biblical Mandate and our Faithful Response. Their extracurricular activities included fishing, a crocodile boat trip, a visit to a coffee plantation, zip-lining, national parks trips, observation of water-treatment systems, weekend stays with Costa Rican host families, and a pair of service projects. For their final integrative project, some painted murals, one worked on reducing energy consumption at the center, and another wrote a booklet on herbal teas.
Resources
Alumni participation in giving shows how alumni support Whitworth's goals, appreciate their own student experience, and believe in the university's future. We're working toward our goal of 3,185 alumni donors by June 30, and during the second half of March we'll be challenging those of you who have not yet made a gift this year. Whitworthians for Life, we encourage you to help us reach 300 alumni donors in the two weeks ending on March 30. Join the effort to provide our current and future students with Whitworth's unique mind-and-heart education. Please make your annual gift today at www.whitworth.edu/give. And if you've already donated, thank you VERY much.
Miscellaneous
Gordon Jackson (Communication Studies) has published his sixth book of quotations, Sleep Faster, We Need the Pillows:500 Logical Lapses, Paradoxes and Other Mental Delights, which includes the following helpful quote from W.S. Gilbert: "You've no idea what a poor opinion I have of myself, and how little I deserve it." Buy it!
Sports
Whitworth's swimming teams swept the Northwest Conference championships. The men won their 11th straight conference title (did you catch that, 11th straight!), using outstanding depth to outscore runner-up Whitman by nearly 100 points. Wes Tatum broke a long-standing school record in the 200 butterfly. The women won 11 of their 18 events to defeat runner-up UPS by nearly 200 points. Kate Duvall, '14, earned the Outstanding Women's Swimmer of the Meet award with victories in the 500 freestyle and both the 100 and 200 backstrokes. The championship is the women's third in the last four years. We're so proud of our swimmers!
Men's basketball finished the regular season 22-3 overall and 14-2 in the NWC, clinching its fourth straight outright conference title and going on to defeat Whitman in the NWC championship tournament. Guards Wade Gebbers, '13, and Dustin McConnell, '14, were selected First Team All-NWC. The Bucs are now preparing to play a second-round NCAA Div. III national tournament game in the fieldhouse against Emory University (Georgia).
Women's basketball finished the regular season at 19-6, tied for third place in the NWC standings at 12-4. They then went to Whitman and beat the Missionaries in the semifinal round of the NWC championship tournament – and went on, two days later, to defeat first-place Lewis & Clark for the championship! Last week they lost their first-round Div. III tournament game to Atlanta's Emory University. We're proud of their talent and hard work!
I'll catch you up on our spring sports next month. Our spring athletes are off to a great start, and they – along with the rest of us – look forward to improving weather!
Closing Thoughts
I stopped a Whitworth senior in his tracks yesterday as he hustled through The Loop on his way to class. I asked him to tell me the first three things he could think of that he would miss after graduating from Whitworth. His comeback was quick: "Leonard Oakland, French Dip Fridays, and Whitworth basketball games," he said. "Well played," I told him "Well played." I pray that during this Lenten season, the God of mercy and grace will pour out his richest blessings upon you. Please keep our seniors in your prayers.
